Seeking researcher identity through the co-construction and representation of young people’s narratives of identity

Abstract

This paper tells the story of how a model of action research was used to examine my own development and emerging identity as a researcher through the Master of Research programme at my employing university in Scotland. It is located within a context of increasing expectations on academics within vocational training departments of UK universities to give priority to research activity. My story aims to engage with how the challenges in developing ‘self-as-researcher’ were interwoven with my learning through undertaking a narrative inquiry project with ‘More Choices, More Chances’ young people, as part of the Master of Research. The key stages of the research process, notably the search for authentic ways of gathering and representing the stories of the young people around the key themes of identity and inclusion, evoked the resonance of these themes with my own narrative of shifting and overlapping identities. In setting this paper within the context of current international literature I aim to add to current interest in reflexivity in research through illuminating the connections between the action research and narrative inquiry processes. Values around empowerment and social justice, illustrated in the paper through reflecting on the researcher/participant relationship, are interwoven in both. The visual research methods used in the narrative inquiry project are examined in terms of their contribution to an empowering ‘space’ for storytelling, and to my representation of these stories in trustworthy ways.

Keywords:

• action research
• narrative inquiry
• reflexivity
• narrating the ‘self’
• values
• visual image

Acknowledgements

This research project and the narrative that has emerged from it have grown out of many years of direct working with children, young people and their families, as well as with practitioners from many professions and disciplines in the human services. I would like to acknowledge particularly what I have learned and gained from the young participants of this research. They have continued to reinforce my hope and belief in the possibility of change.

I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my academic and professional development within the Master of Research programme, reflecting my belief in lifelong learning. In keeping me ‘afloat’ in hitherto uncharted waters, the support of my colleagues undertaking the programme alongside me, as well as the guidance of supervisors, has been invaluable.